Cerebrospinal fluid anti-cardiolipin antibodies in neurological diseases.

We studied, with sensitive ELISAs, the anti-cardiolipin antibodies of the G, A, and M classes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of 179 neurological patients. The CSF and serum of 2 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients presented IgG anti-cardiolipin antibodies in corresponding levels. Anti-cardiolipin antibodies were produced within the central nervous system in neurosyphilis (A and M classes), in some patients affected by multiple sclerosis (G or M class), in two cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (G and A classes), and in one AIDS patient (G class). The CSF anti-cardiolipin antibodies detected in our study suggest a local immune reaction against brain phospholipids in SLE and in human demyelinating disorders.